diff --git a/.github/scripts/cask-pr-handoff-workflow.test.sh b/.github/scripts/cask-pr-handoff-workflow.test.sh
index 8773e9f53b..663c3ee98b 100755
--- a/.github/scripts/cask-pr-handoff-workflow.test.sh
+++ b/.github/scripts/cask-pr-handoff-workflow.test.sh
@@ -70,6 +70,40 @@ assert_not_contains() {
 	fi
 }
 
+# Run the real loop up to PR discovery. An invalid published Desktop archive must
+# never reach either the open-PR handoff or the already-merged recovery path, while
+# the independently verified CLI cask remains deliverable.
+archive_gate="${tmp_dir}/archive-gate.sh"
+awk '
+  /^          for name in ksail ksail-desktop; do/ { in_loop = 1 }
+  in_loop && /^            matches=/ { exit }
+  in_loop { line = $0; sub(/^          /, "", line); print line }
+  END { print "  printf '\''delivered:%s\\n'\'' \"$name\""; print "done" }
+' "${homebrew_block}" >"${archive_gate}"
+gate_root="${tmp_dir}/archive-gate"
+mkdir -p "${gate_root}/.github/scripts"
+cat >"${gate_root}/.github/scripts/verify-published-desktop-archive.sh" <<'EOF'
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+printf 'BLOCKED: published Desktop bundle has an invalid resource seal\n' >&2
+exit 1
+EOF
+chmod +x "${gate_root}/.github/scripts/verify-published-desktop-archive.sh"
+(
+	cd "${gate_root}"
+	TAG=v7.212.40 TAP=devantler-tech/homebrew-tap handoff_failed=0
+	GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY="${tmp_dir}/archive-gate-summary"
+	# shellcheck source=/dev/null
+	source "${archive_gate}"
+	[[ "${handoff_failed}" -eq 1 ]] || fail 'invalid Desktop archive must make the handoff fail'
+) >"${tmp_dir}/archive-gate.log" 2>&1 || {
+	cat "${tmp_dir}/archive-gate.log" >&2
+	fail 'invalid published Desktop archive reached cask handoff'
+}
+grep -Fxq 'delivered:ksail' "${tmp_dir}/archive-gate.log" || fail 'Desktop rejection blocked the CLI cask'
+if grep -Fxq 'delivered:ksail-desktop' "${tmp_dir}/archive-gate.log"; then
+	fail 'invalid published Desktop archive reached open or merged PR recovery'
+fi
+
 race_root="${tmp_dir}/merged-race"
 mkdir -p "${race_root}/.github/scripts" "${race_root}/evidence"
 cat >"${race_root}/.github/scripts/find-merged-cask-pr-handoff.sh" <<'EOF'
diff --git a/.github/scripts/verify-published-desktop-archive.sh b/.github/scripts/verify-published-desktop-archive.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..605595a5c5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/scripts/verify-published-desktop-archive.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# Verify the immutable Desktop download before delivering or recovering its cask.
+set -euo pipefail
+
+if [[ $# != 1 || ! "$1" =~ ^v[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+([+-][0-9A-Za-z.-]+)?$ ]]; then
+	printf 'Usage: verify-published-desktop-archive.sh TAG\n' >&2
+	exit 2
+fi
+
+tag="$1"
+asset="KSail_${tag#v}_darwin_arm64.zip"
+script_dir="$(cd -- "$(dirname -- "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
+repo_root="$(cd -- "${script_dir}/../.." && pwd)"
+work="$(mktemp -d)"
+trap 'rm -rf "$work"' EXIT
+export GH_TOKEN="${KSAIL_CASK_READ_TOKEN:-${GH_TOKEN:-}}"
+
+"${script_dir}/cask-read-api.sh" "repos/devantler-tech/ksail/releases/tags/${tag}" >"${work}/release.json"
+if ! digest="$(jq -er --arg tag "$tag" --arg asset "$asset" '
+  select(.tag_name == $tag and .draft == false and .immutable == true)
+  | select(.published_at | type == "string" and length > 0)
+  | [.assets[] | select(.name == $asset)]
+  | select(length == 1) | .[0]
+  | select(.size | type == "number" and . > 0 and floor == .)
+  | .digest | select(type == "string" and test("^sha256:[0-9a-f]{64}$"))
+' "${work}/release.json")"; then
+	printf 'BLOCKED: immutable published Desktop asset evidence is incomplete\n' >&2
+	exit 1
+fi
+
+# The destination is fixed by the product and validated tag, never by response text.
+archive="${work}/desktop.zip"
+curl --fail --location --silent --show-error --max-time 180 \
+	--proto '=https' --proto-redir '=https' \
+	--output "$archive" \
+	"https://github.com/devantler-tech/ksail/releases/download/${tag}/${asset}"
+actual="$(shasum -a 256 "$archive" | awk '{print $1}')"
+if [[ "sha256:${actual}" != "$digest" ]]; then
+	printf 'BLOCKED: downloaded Desktop archive does not match its published digest\n' >&2
+	exit 1
+fi
+
+bash "${repo_root}/desktop/scripts/verify-macos-archive.sh" "$archive"
+printf 'PASS: published Desktop archive %s has a valid resource seal (%s)\n' "$tag" "$actual"
diff --git a/.github/scripts/verify-published-desktop-archive.test.sh b/.github/scripts/verify-published-desktop-archive.test.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..1224bc1669
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/scripts/verify-published-desktop-archive.test.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,79 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# Exercise publication recovery with real macOS resource seals and ZIP extraction.
+set -euo pipefail
+
+script_dir="$(cd -- "$(dirname -- "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
+[[ "$(uname -s)" == Darwin ]] || exit 2
+work="$(mktemp -d)"
+trap 'rm -rf "$work"' EXIT
+mkdir -p "$work/KSail.app/Contents/MacOS" "$work/KSail.app/Contents/Resources" "$work/bin"
+cp /usr/bin/true "$work/KSail.app/Contents/MacOS/KSail"
+cat >"$work/KSail.app/Contents/Info.plist" <<'EOF'
+<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
+<plist version="1.0"><dict>
+<key>CFBundleExecutable</key><string>KSail</string>
+<key>CFBundleIdentifier</key><string>tech.devantler.ksail.signature-fixture</string>
+<key>CFBundlePackageType</key><string>APPL</string>
+</dict></plist>
+EOF
+printf 'Original license\n' >"$work/KSail.app/Contents/Resources/LICENSE"
+codesign --force --sign - --timestamp=none "$work/KSail.app" 2>"$work/sign.log"
+ditto -c -k --keepParent "$work/KSail.app" "$work/valid.zip"
+printf 'Changed after signing\n' >"$work/KSail.app/Contents/Resources/LICENSE"
+ditto -c -k --keepParent "$work/KSail.app" "$work/invalid.zip"
+
+# Replace transport only; keep the real digest, extraction and signature checks.
+cat >"$work/bin/gh" <<'EOF'
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -euo pipefail
+[[ "$*" == 'api repos/devantler-tech/ksail/releases/tags/v7.212.40' ]] || exit 2
+cat "$RELEASE_FIXTURE"
+EOF
+cat >"$work/bin/curl" <<'EOF'
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -euo pipefail
+output="" url=""
+while (($#)); do
+	case "$1" in
+	--output) output="$2"; shift 2 ;;
+	https://*) url="$1"; shift ;;
+	*) shift ;;
+	esac
+done
+[[ "$url" == https://github.com/devantler-tech/ksail/releases/download/v7.212.40/KSail_7.212.40_darwin_arm64.zip && -n "$output" ]] || exit 2
+cp "$ARCHIVE_FIXTURE" "$output"
+EOF
+chmod +x "$work/bin/gh" "$work/bin/curl"
+export PATH="$work/bin:$PATH"
+export RELEASE_FIXTURE="$work/release.json" ARCHIVE_FIXTURE="$work/valid.zip"
+
+# Describe the actual fixture publication without using production parsing code.
+publication() {
+	local digest
+	digest="$(shasum -a 256 "$1" | awk '{print $1}')"
+	jq -n --arg digest "sha256:$digest" '{tag_name:"v7.212.40",draft:false,
+    immutable:true,published_at:"2026-11-11T00:00:00Z",
+    assets:[{name:"KSail_7.212.40_darwin_arm64.zip",size:1,digest:$digest}]}' >"$RELEASE_FIXTURE"
+}
+
+publication "$ARCHIVE_FIXTURE"
+bash "${script_dir}/verify-published-desktop-archive.sh" v7.212.40 >"$work/valid.log" 2>&1
+grep -q '^PASS: published Desktop archive' "$work/valid.log"
+printf 'PASS: valid immutable publication\n'
+
+ARCHIVE_FIXTURE="$work/invalid.zip"
+if bash "${script_dir}/verify-published-desktop-archive.sh" v7.212.40 >"$work/digest.log" 2>&1; then
+	printf 'FAIL: download with a different checksum was accepted\n' >&2
+	exit 1
+fi
+grep -q 'does not match its published digest' "$work/digest.log"
+printf 'PASS: changed download rejected\n'
+
+# Even a checksum-matching publication must fail when its signed resources changed.
+publication "$ARCHIVE_FIXTURE"
+if bash "${script_dir}/verify-published-desktop-archive.sh" v7.212.40 >"$work/seal.log" 2>&1; then
+	printf 'FAIL: checksum-matching invalid resource seal was accepted\n' >&2
+	exit 1
+fi
+grep -q 'sealed resource is missing or invalid' "$work/seal.log"
+printf 'PASS: checksum-matching invalid resource seal rejected\n'
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cd.yaml b/.github/workflows/cd.yaml
index 8e618c9378..041306a8cd 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cd.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cd.yaml
@@ -1065,6 +1065,13 @@ jobs:
 
           for name in ksail ksail-desktop; do
             branch="goreleaser/${name}"
+            # Check the actual immutable download before either open-PR delivery or
+            # merged-PR recovery. A checksum match alone cannot prove a valid seal.
+            if [[ "$name" == ksail-desktop ]] && ! .github/scripts/verify-published-desktop-archive.sh "$TAG"; then
+              echo "::error::Published Desktop archive failed signature verification; leaving its cask untouched"
+              handoff_failed=1
+              continue
+            fi
             # `|| true` keeps the job fail-soft: a transient API failure (5xx, rate limit,
             # network blip) must not abort the step under `set -e` after the release is already public —
             # invalid evidence below then warns and skips, same as the no-PR-found case.
diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yaml b/.github/workflows/ci.yaml
index cb07761fb6..4ea4a3b4f6 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yaml
@@ -452,6 +452,9 @@ jobs:
               - 'pkg/svc/installer/cni/calico/Dockerfile'
               - '.github/workflows/ci.yaml'
             cask-pr-handoff:
+              - '.github/scripts/verify-published-desktop-archive.sh'
+              - '.github/scripts/verify-published-desktop-archive.test.sh'
+              - 'desktop/scripts/verify-macos-archive.sh'
               - '.github/scripts/cask-read-api.sh'
               - '.github/scripts/cask-read-api.test.sh'
               - 'server.json'
@@ -725,6 +728,22 @@ jobs:
           .github/actions/ksail-test-workload/remote-resource-guard.test.sh
           .github/actions/ksail-test-workload/install-with-recovery.test.sh
 
+  desktop-recovery-signature:
+    name: 🔐 Verify Published Desktop Signature
+    runs-on: macos-latest
+    timeout-minutes: 5
+    needs: [changes]
+    if: needs.changes.outputs.cask-pr-handoff == 'true'
+    permissions:
+      contents: read
+    steps:
+      - name: 📄 Checkout
+        uses: actions/checkout@3d3c42e5aac5ba805825da76410c181273ba90b1 # v7.0.1
+        with:
+          persist-credentials: false
+      - name: Verify real resource seals in publication recovery
+        run: bash .github/scripts/verify-published-desktop-archive.test.sh
+
   cask-pr-handoff:
     name: 🔐 Validate Cask PR Handoff
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
@@ -763,6 +782,8 @@ jobs:
             .github/scripts/upload-release-assets.test.sh \
             .github/scripts/validate-cask-pr-handoff.sh \
             .github/scripts/validate-cask-pr-handoff.test.sh \
+            .github/scripts/verify-published-desktop-archive.sh \
+            .github/scripts/verify-published-desktop-archive.test.sh \
             .github/scripts/wait-for-github-api-budget.sh \
             .github/scripts/wait-for-github-api-budget.test.sh \
             .github/scripts/cask-pr-handoff-workflow.test.sh
@@ -3032,6 +3053,7 @@ jobs:
         test-cask-rendering,
         release-graph-audit,
         cask-pr-handoff,
+        desktop-recovery-signature,
         native-home-paths,
         windows-notice-staging,
         eks-smoke-scripts,
@@ -3079,6 +3101,7 @@ jobs:
             ${{ needs.test-cask-rendering.result }}
             ${{ needs.release-graph-audit.result }}
             ${{ needs.cask-pr-handoff.result }}
+            ${{ needs.desktop-recovery-signature.result }}
             ${{ needs.native-home-paths.result }}
             ${{ needs.windows-notice-staging.result }}
             ${{ needs.eks-smoke-scripts.result }}
diff --git a/pkg/client/kubescape/release_graph_test.go b/pkg/client/kubescape/release_graph_test.go
index 5a1f9f4a9b..c0c2d5106b 100644
--- a/pkg/client/kubescape/release_graph_test.go
+++ b/pkg/client/kubescape/release_graph_test.go
@@ -422,7 +422,7 @@ func auditedReleaseConfigDigests() map[string]string {
 		".github/actions/release-admission/action.yaml":      "a8ac217c7e2195fee64b364748a6724b99aa0aa4a9988127084f1d6b45953f0c",
 		"scripts/stage-webui.sh":                             "56f99977b9e5026eedd693e59da4e0cd82d0167e94d0ce4b9c7bb5ce2cd8ed3c",
 		".github/actions/free-disk-space/free-disk-space.sh": "2dd12fcf3779137ca1cb5f21194947f6a10d3f94f8fb438a1a29ec9021fbdc30",
-		".github/workflows/cd.yaml#without-uses":             "04ab2010cd4425e47ccadbff1dbadf421e496120b3961dd72496bc0451bb4f1a",
+		".github/workflows/cd.yaml#without-uses":             "7235813459ca01e063df01e523341533ed62c8f7c4c29428a08efbcff2f20206",
 	}
 }